Wringer



Feb. 3, 1948; n. K. ,FERRIS v WRINGER Filed Nov. 11, 1945. 2 Sheets- Sheet; 2

BY" g m Talc Patented Feb. 3, 1948 i I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WRINGER Donald K. Ferris, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Dayton. Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application November 11, 1943, Serlai No. 509,828 8 Claims. (Cl. 68 255) e 2 This invention relates to wringers such as are. either direction of a floating lever connecting the used in connection with washing machines. wringer with the wringer support. The lever is Many different forms of controls have been moved longitudinally to release it from a slotted provided for Wrlngers. I believe that four forms connection with the wringer support to provide are most desirable. The first two of the most dea swing lock release and to cam the clutch opersirable forms of controls are the clutch control ating member to the neutral position. The lever and the swing lock release which are almost uniis pivoted by the movement of the wringer relaversaliy provided. A third desirable control is an tive to the wringer support in either direction interlock between the swing lock release and the to cam the clutch operating member to the neuclutch control; there has been little commercial l0 tral position. To compensate for the drive shaft use of this device. A fourth control is what is torque acting on the wringer, the spring opposing called an instinctive release wherein a sufljlciently the free movement of the lever has a greater tenvioient pull or push on the wringer or tug upon sion in the direction resisting the torque of the the clothes is sufficient to stop the wringer. There drive shaft than in the opposite direction. has been little or no commercial use of this Further objects and advantages of-the present safety feature. This is a valuable safety feature invention will be apparent from the following since almost any forceful instinctive movement description, reference being bad to the accomby anyone who might happen to have his hand panying drawings, wherein a preferred form of or clothing caught in the wringer is sufllcient to the present invention is clearly shown. operate the instinctive release mechanism to stop In the drawings: the wringer. Fig. 1 is a sectional view through a wringer It is an object of my invention to embody all head and wringer support showing one form of these features in a wringer in such a simple my invention;

way that-it can be provided in low price wringers Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-4 of and yet be so satisfactory and eflicient that it Fig. I; will be superior to those controls which may be Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line found in high price wringers. 33 of Fig. 1; and

It is another object of my invention to provide Fig. 4 is a view in elevation of the spring shown a single, simple, inexpensive control member in Figs. 1 and 2. which performs several functions previously per- Referring now to the drawings, there is shown formed by a number of separate control members, a wringer head 20 having a downwardly extend- It is another object of my invention to provide ing cylindrical portion 22 which is rotatably a single member which performs the instinctive mounted upon a vertical post 24. This post is roll stop release and acts as a releasable swing provided with a flange 28 which may be made in lock aswell as an interlock release. 7 one or two pieces pressed onto the post 24 and It is another object of my invention to provide locked thereon by some suitable means such as a a simple means whereby the instinctiverelease set-screw. The post 24 is hollow and contains is compensated for the torque reaction of the a hollow drive shaft 28 extending upwardly from wringer. the power element of the washing machine. This It is another object of my invention to provide hollow drive shaft 28 is provided with diametrimeans for stopping the wringer when the load cally opposite slots 30 at its upper end which reis excessive in either direction of operationceive the driving pin 32 o! thesplined clutch It is another object of my invention to arrange shaft 34 This splined clutch shaft 34 is sun-- the instinctive release in such a way that it will ported by upper and lower bearings 38 and 38in also function as an overload release. 4 the wringer head 20. The clutch shaft 34 is pre- It is another object of my invention to provide vented from moving axially by a shoulder proan improved clutch operating mechanism which vided on the shaft 34 beneath the gear 42 and by will operate more easily and be simple and inexa washer 31 which is held in place by anut 39 pensive. threaded onto the end of the clutch shaft 34. It is another object of my invention to provide The clutch shaft 34 is provided with a slidable an improved clutch positioning means which will jaw clutch member 40 which is splined to slidably have little wear. fit the splines in the clutch shaft 34.

These objects are attained by providing a clutch hi li l clutch m r 4 has recesses operating cam member operated by either a lonand teeth at its upper and-lower ends for em gitudinal movement or a pivoted movement in if easement with complementary recesses and upon the adjacent ends of the teeth provided upper and lower bevelgears l2 and M rotatably mounted upon the clutch shaft ll. These gears are constantly enmeshed with a bevel crown gear 40 connected by the shaft coupling 40 to the drive roller 50 of the wringer which is in engagement with the idler pressure roller 52 .in the usual manner. The remainder of the wringer is not shown since it is'conventional and its construction may be like that shown in the Kaufiman Patent 2,266,498.

The slidable clutch member 40 is held in its middle or neutral position shown in Fig. 1, or in its upper or lower position in engagement with either the upper or lower bevel gears 42 or M, by a roller 54 which rides in a groove 58 extending around the midpoint of the member 40. This roller is rotatably mounted by means oi a screw i0 and a spacer member threaded into a triangular shaped lever 00 pivoted by a pin 82 to the adjacent wall of the wringer head.

This lever 60 at its opposite end is provided with a middle notch 0| and upper and lower notches 68 and 80. A roller I0 is provided upon the end of a quarter elliptic spring member 12 which is fastened to the wringer head. The engagement of the roller 10 with either of the notches serves to yieldingly retain the clutch member #0 in any one of its three positions. The lever 60 is moved from any one o! the positions to any of the other positions by an eccentrically located pin I0 which extends into a slot I0 provided in the lever 00 adjacent the notch 84. This pin is provided in the inner face of a cam member I9 which is rotatably mounted in a bearing 80 provided with a transverse pin 02 for preventing axial movement. This cam member I8 is connected to an operating shaft 00 supported by a strap member ill and provided with 'an operating handle at at its outer end.

Heretofore it has been the practice to provide the roller directly upon the cam member and this has resulted in the roller being considerably of! the exact radial position in the groove of the clutch operating member. This has resulted inconsiderable binding, wear and difiicult operation. Also it has been customary to provide the spring latching mechanism directly on the cam member. Because of the small amount of movement of the cam member and the small area of contact which it could provide for latching, this arrangement was subject to considerable wear and it failed to hold the clutch member in proper position when worn. By providing the lever 00 in between the cammember I0 and the clutch member I provide a much greater surface and a much greater leverage for the spring latch mechanism. particularly since it is possible to use a roller with the notches III to 08. The roller 59 is sufllciently far from the pivot pin 82 that in the amount of movement required of the lever 00 in either direction from its neutral position the roller 54 does not move any substantial distance oi! the line of the true radial position.

The rotatable mounting of the wringer head 20 upon the wringer support which includes the post 24 and the flange 26makes it possible to swing the wringer around to a number of positions. In order to latch the wringer, I provide a floating lever 90 having a projection ill at its lower end shown extending into one of the slots 92 provided in the flange 26. Four or eight, or any other desired number of slots may be prodownwardly into its latching aeauso vided in the flange 28 in order to provide as many locked positions of the wringer as desired.

It is necessary for safety reasons that the clutch mechanism be returned to the neutral position before the swing lock latch is released. If this is not done and particularly if there should be some clothes passing between the rolls of the wringer, the rotation of the drive shaft 28 acting upon the clutch shalt 34 will cause the wringer to swing around the post 24. In order to avoid this dangerous situation, I have provided a substantially rectangular aperture 93 in the upper portion of the floating lever 90. This rectangular aperture is provided with two semi-circular projections 94 and 96 which are adapted to engage a cam projection 98 in the form of a diametric rib provided upon the outer face of the cam member I8.

The floating lever is provided with a slot IOI through which extends a screw I03 into a boss I05 provided upon the lower cylindrical portion 22 of the wringer head 20. A large washer I01 is provided to give a more flrm, lateral support for the floating lever 90 in order to keep the upper end in engagement with the cam 98 at all times and to guide the lower end 9i into the slots 92. The floating lever 90 is provided with, a knob I09 by which it can be raised to lift it out of one of the slots, such as the slot 92 in the flange 26, in order to release the latching connection between the wringer head and wringer support. 'If the clutch mechanism should be turned to either the forward or reverse driving arrangements the cam 93 will be in either one of the angular positions illustrated by the dot and dash outline in Fig. 2. Under such circumstances, either the projection 94 or the projection 96 will engage the upper portion of the cam 98 and move the clutch mechanism to the neutral position. It is very desirable that the clutch mechanism operate easily in order to make this interlock arrangement work without too much efiort.

A spring III having a loop extending around the spacer member H3 and having two end portions H5 and H1 wrapped around the spacer from the clutch operating shaft 83 may be provided to yieldingly urge the floating lever 90 position. While the floating lever 90 serves and release mechanism as well as an interlock link mechanism, it also serves as an instinctive release mechanism. For this purpose the lower and SI of the floating lever 90 which projects into the slots in the flange 26 is rounded so that it may pivot in the slots. The slot I0.I allows the lever 90 to pivot along the screw I03 as well as to move upwardly with respect to the screw I03, thereby providing a foundation for its naming of floating lever.

When the floating lever 90 is in one of its latching positions any rotational movement of the wringer head 20 upon the wringer support 24, 26 will causethe floating lever 90 to pivot upon the screw I03. This pivoting will be resisted by the upper arms H9 and I2I of the spring III which engage opposite sides of the bent-out projection I23 provided in the upper end of the floating lever 90. The upper ends of these arms H9 and i2I are bent so as to have a downward component upon the projection I23 to resiliently urge the floating lever projection 9i downwardly into the slots 92 in the flange 26. They also have a horizontal component tending to hold the floating lever 90 in its central position.

asa

swing lock latch portion Ii of the spring I I I, anism is in either lever 90 in this counter-clockwise direction will cause the engagement of the right side of the are made oi'equal tension, then it will be more difficult to push the wringer in the direction opposite the direction of rotation of the drive shaft 28. Assuming that thedrive shaft 28 is rotated in the clockwise direction, looking downwardly. then it will be anism located in necting said the wringer head operably con- 3. A wringer comprising a wringer head and framework, rolls mounted in the framework, a.

a bearing support having a 7 for supporting said wringer head,

vertical axis and a ingle lever having floating pivotal connection with said wringer head and a removable pivotal connection with said bearing support for lever, and an operatinghandle for disconnecting said removable pivotal connection to permit unrestricted rotation of. the wringer head and framework upon said bearing support.

5. A wringer comprising a bearing support having a vertical axis, a wringer head and framework mounted upon said bearing support, rolls mounted in said framework, a drive mechanism in said wringer head connected to one of said rolls, a control means including a horizontal operating shaft. and an operating handle protruding from said head for moving the drive mechanism to and from operative and inoperative position, a vertical lever having a pivotal connection with said wringer head, the lower end of said lever being provided with a pivotal connection with said bearing support, the upper end of said lever and said control means being provided with cooperating means effective upon pivotal movement of-the lever for moving said control means to move the drive mechanism from operative to inoperative position.

6. A wringer comprising a bearing support having a vertical axis, a wringer head and framework mounted upon said bearing support, rolls mounted in said framework, a drive mechanism in said wringer head connected to one of said rolls, a control means including a horizontal operating shaft and an operating handle protruding from said head for moving the drive mechanism 'to and from operative and inoperative position,

a vertical lever having a floating pivotal connection with said wringer head, the of said lever being provided with a. tongue and slot' connection with said bearing support, the upper end of said lever and said control means being provided with cooperating means for moving said drive mechanism to the inoperative position, and a handle for disengaging the tongue and slot connection to disengage said lever from said support.

7. In combination, a clutch mechanism including a rotatable shaft provided with a slidable clutch collar, a control shaft means having its lower end' assasse 8 axis transverse to the axis of said rotatable shaft, a lever having its pivot at one side of the control shaft, said lever for moving'and being provided with a means controlling the location of said clutch collar, said control shaft means having .an eccentrically lever remote from its pivot, and a resilient latchlocated connection with said ing means including a first cooperating portion provided upo and a secon with the first portion to resiliently hold the lever n said lever beyond said connection d cooperating portion cooperating and the clutch collar in a predetermined position.

8. A wringer comprising a framework, rolls mounted in wringer head and the framework, a

substantially vertical drive shaft, a drive mechanism located in the wringer head operably coning said drive mechanism into operative and inoperative pcsitions, a bearing support having a vertical axis for supporting said wringer head, and a single lever having at an intermediate portion a pivotal the lower por connection with the wringer head,

tion of said lever and said bearing support having coacting means for imparting a pivotal mov movement 0 ement of the lever upon rotational f the wringer head upon the bearing support, the upper portion of said lever and said control means having coacting means for operating the control means so as to move the drive mechanism from an operative position to the inoperative position upon predetermined pivotal movementof the lever.

The foil DONALD K. FERRIS.

REFERENCES CITED owing references are of record in the file of this patent:-

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Etten Jan. 5, 1943' Etten Sept. 28, 1943 Etten Feb. 22, 1944 Barker Aug. 29, 1927 Kauflman Oct. 1, 1940 Kaufiman Mar. 23, 1943 Gross et al Mar. 28, 1939 Calkins July 23, 1029 Denton Mar. 12, 1889 Conley July 2, 1935 Flinchbaugh Mar. 19, 1907 

